Viper Manor ~ Foyer and Family Room ~ April 13, 2024

Svetlana flooed into the spacious family room. Her large brown eyes cast about for anyone that might also be in the same vicinity. She wasn’t sure who to inform first, but yet found the imagined look on her husband’s face when she would tell him she wasn’t going to work the next day to be quite amusing indeed. At least now she knew why she had felt so unwell at Demyan’s birthday party... and quite frankly for the whole month of April thus far now that she thought about it.

One of her sister-in-law’s potions, not to mention a visit to a healer after Sveta’s shift was up at Saint Mungo’s, confirmed everything. It was the reason Sveta refused to apparate and was even hesitant on using the floo... nearly deciding muggle transportation needed a try. She’d done the same thing when she was expecting her son, for she was so scared of his tiny body not being able to withstand the strain of apparition nor the bumps and scrapes of going from grate to grate.

In fact, she’d scraped her elbow quite well this past time, for she could feel a small trickle of blood running down her arm, hidden mostly by dark-colored sleeve.

Seeing no one in the room at this moment, Sveta ignored the soreness of her elbow and placed her hand over her abdomen, smiling happily. Now all too aware of another magical aura within her, the witch mused upon what her family would think about a new addition. Of course, regardless, she would keep the baby... but having familial support was crucial to her. Was it too soon to have another child? Little Draco was only about three, due to be a whole four years old come New Year’s Eve.

An odd thing, time, she mused. It didn’t seem at all like three years since she’d had her first child... or even nearly that long since she’d married the child’s namesake. Sveta only hoped there would never come a time where she would have to choose between her husband and her child. The witch wouldn’t be able to do such a thing, for she loved both so very much. She would just as soon as sacrifice herself than allow one of ‘her boys’ to become injured – or worse, Merlin forbid! – in any way, shape, or form.

In an instant a wave of nausea assailed the Russian witch’s senses, causing her to double over whilst using one of the room’s sofas for support. She wasn’t yet sure what the child’s gender was, for she wanted to learn of it with Dracovan rather than without him, but it wasn’t nearly quite as powerful when she’d been pregnant with her son. From what she understood it was often the boys in the family that made nausea a notorious symptom, while the girls were much milder upon an expectant mother’s systems.

Room spinning, Sveta eventually approached the open portion of the sofa and gently sank into it. Chocolate orbs closed, uninterested that the fireplace was able to speed around the room in three seconds flat. One hand lazily draped over the portion of her abdomen that was only slightly swollen, willing the dizzy spell to fade. ’Either you are a boy or you are going to be a very rambunctious little girl...’ Svetlana silently told the unborn child causing her nausea. If only she weren’t so disoriented she would have chuckled lightly at the musing, and would’ve more actively pondered the options.

What only caused her head to spin even more than the conundrum as to her baby’s gender was: how would she deliver this news to Dracovan?

The day had been rather relaxed and normal for Dracovan Viper and his son Draco. As his wife was working today, Dracovan had taken this day off so that he may take care of his son. While he and his sister had often been in the care of house-elves growing up, like his sister and her arrangements with her children, it wasn't an arrangement he desired for his son. No matter what, he swore to strive and do everything in his power to have his child, and any other child he and his wife would be blessed with in the future, to be with at least one parent, every day of their young lives instead of being just tossed into the hands, albeit more than capable hands, of a magical creature.

"Ready to go, Mini-Me?" he asked as his son finished eating the last bite of his syrniki, beaming as the child responded with a bright smile enthusiastically,

"Da! Da, Papa!"

Dracovan mirrored the child's grin as he aided the boy off the chair and led him by the hand out of the kitchen towards the living room. Now that snack time was over, he had every intention of continuing their rather competitive game of hide-and-go-seek. However, all thoughts of added playtime fled from his mind temporarily as he noticed his beautiful wife had returned from work and was sitting upon the sofa.

"Mama!" Draco exclaimed in delight as he raced the remaining distance between his Mother and him and wrapped his arms gently around her knees in an embrace of greeting.

"Hey there, Starshine." Dracovan replied happily as he trailed after his son and plopped down gently upon the couch, next to the love of his life. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as he gave her a hello kiss. "How was work?"

Pools of warm chocolate opened upon the exclamation from their owner’s little boy, the mere sight of the child enough for Sveta to push aside her previous nausea and grin. “Privyet, Draco,” she replied happily, cautiously leaning forward to place her hand on her son’s head, and then his back, giving him about as close as a hug as she could manage as he hugged her knees. “Vot has your father been feeding you vhile I’m at vork? I svear, you get taller vith each passing day!” she laughed and hoisted the child onto her lap just as the love of Sveta’s life joined her by her side.

“Hey,” she replied, breathless, happy, and nervous all in one tornado of swirling emotion. Sveta leaned into the kiss and the arm around her shoulder, at the same time blindly smoothing out her son’s outfit. “It vos vonderful, dear, though I missed the both of you terribly!” she explained, giving husband and son each a kiss on the cheek.

“Sorry I am home later than usual... I thought vhile I vos there I’d speak vith Dr. Althaus, as I still vosn’t feeling my best today...” she added, inching closer to the news she wanted to convey but was still a long way off. Dr. Althaus was her regular doctor but also had been present to help deliver the bouncing baby boy sitting in her lap now. She wondered if her husband would put two and two together, and took a moment to tickle little Draco. To her, it seemed an eternity since she’d heard him laugh... even though said eons were only mere hours.

“And your day vith little Draco? Vos everything alright here?” she asked, even though she had a strong feeling that if something had gone wrong she would’ve been filled in as soon as possible. “Vot did I miss vhile I vos avay?” The longing in her voice was proof that, if she hadn’t such an urge to help people, she would’ve gladly given anything to be with the both of them rather than be at work all day.

The smile already present on both father and son's faces widened from the owner's delight at Sveta's presence as she hoisted Draco unto her lap. A light wave of laughter escaped the young child as he leaned into his Mother's touch, resting his head against her chest, returning her embrace. Draco was, in every sense of the word, a Mama's boy.

Dracovan let out a silent sigh of happiness and contentment, utterly at ease with his surroundings. Could life get anymore perfect? Here he was, free from Azkaban, married to the love of his life, and now with a son, a proof of all the love between him and his angel. He couldn't speak enough of this content within him.

"And we missed you too, quite terribly if I may say so." Dracovan replied with a bright grin. "Isn't that right, Mini-Me? It's never as fun when Mummy's not with us, is it?"

Draco grinned in reply, his grin matching his father's nearly identically as he nodded in eager agreement. "Da, Papa." he leaned in closer to his Mother's touch, muttering into her chest. "Mama stay..."

Alarm and worry flooded the wizard, evident by the flash of color in his emerald affection-filled orbs at the mention of his wife seeing a Doctor. "Are you still feeling ill, darling? What is it? Is there anything I can do to make you feel better? Perhaps you should head on up to bed and rest?" he suggested in a rapid flurry of words, with a speed of chatter that may possibly rival Ethan Addams. While Dracovan was on the whole a rather composed and calm mannered wizard, when it came to his wife and the safety of his family, he was best described as a firecracker. He remembered rather well who exactly Dr. Althaus was and found him to be quite pleasant. However, at the moment with his thoughts entirely focused on the well-being of his wife, his recollections of the wizard didn't extend past the basic fact of the man being his wife's own doctor and colleague.

A cadence of boyish giggles escaped Draco as he squirmed in delight to his mother's tickles. "Mama! " he managed between laughter as he picked up his stuffed toy puppy and pushed the dog's nose unto his Mother's cheek as to give her a kiss via the toy. The play between son and wife just as well forced a ream of hearty laughter to escape Dracovan as he watched his family with unguarded adoration, once more thanking whatever deity that would listen for the angel beside him.

"Wonderful as always." Dracovan beamed in response to his wife's inquiry. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a small piece of parchment and handed it to his son. "Here, Mini-Me. Why don't you show Mummy the drawing you did today?"

Draco grinned in response and nodded his head, taking the drawing and handed it to his Mother. "For you!" he exclaimed brightly. The drawing was what a basic scribble of a three year old: a red scribbled mass of what appeared to be a heart, with the words 'I love Mummy' written beside it, clearly added with Dracovan's aid. "Mummy like?" he asked with a hopeful tone, his little fingers crossed in hopes his Mother would like the drawing he had made for her today.

Sveta glanced downward at her son, placing a hand upon his head to encourage him to lean against her. In the same space of time the witch smiled even more warmly, if such a thing were possible. How she had missed spending time with the pair: as though the heartbreak of leaving for work was instantly melted in this instant in time of being able to hold her son and be held by her husband.

She tilted her head back to rest it upon Dracovan’s shoulder when he spoke, the corners of her mouth twitching further back in the direction of her ears at the grin she’d loved ever since she’d first seen him. Sveta shifted only slightly to observe her son, chuckling lightly at the enthusiastic affirmative. “Aww,” she crooned at the mutter from her baby boy, and gently embraced him a little tighter. Sveta really wished the hospital had a “take your child to work day”, but yet knew there were very good reasons to leave her pride and joy in the capable hands of his father instead. “I vill stay...” she trailed off in a whisper, tempted to explain that she’d stay until she had to go to work again. However, her experiences in counseling patients told her it was best to just give her little boy what he needed to hear to make him feel secure, and explain herself in more depth when the right time presented itself.

The witch could practically sense the aura of concern about her husband, and looked to him to make sure she wasn’t just imagining things. Sure enough, Sveta had caught the tail end of a flash of brightened color in the emerald orbs. Caramel pools blinked at the flurry of questions and attempted to process it all, reminded quite vividly of Ethan Addams – a man who at the time she had met him Sevastyan had not been very fond of. After a moment, though she smiled and placed a single finger upon the wizard’s lips to silence him. “Yes... I’m still feeling ill, but it vill pass in time,” she replied with a smile before leaning to replace her finger with her lips in a brief kiss. “I think I vill go up to rest soon, if you are okay vatching Draco for a vhile longer... and you’re already doing something to make me feel better,” Sveta added, leaning further into Dracovan’s touch.

Sveta chuckled at her son’s giggles and antics with the plush puppy, giving both it and the boy a kiss in return. When she heard Dracovan join in the laughter it seemed like everything in their lives couldn’t be more perfect. From the corner of her eyes she seen the adoration in the orbs of the love of her life, and knew the gaze of her own orbs were an exact match to her husband’s.

The witch grinned, glad to hear that all was well at home whilst she’d been away. Curiosity filled her at the summoning of parchment, which only intensified upon learning her son had drawn something. Although they were the typical scribblings of a three year old, Svetlana simply gushed with pride and happiness in response to any artwork her little Draco presented... for it was her son that had drawn it. In her eyes, the little angel could do no wrong.

Gently taking the parchment from her son’s offered hand Sveta lowered her brown eyes to see what he had drawn. The mass of red was the first thing she seen, and in discerning the shape to be a heart the witch simply beamed. Then she spotted the words beside it. Dracovan had clearly assisted their son in the task but the message was clear. “Oh, Draco,” she gasped delightedly, “I more than like it, sveetheart: I love it!” After pressing a gentle kiss to Draco’s forehead, Sveta levitated the drawing to the Viper portion of the mantle above the fireplace so that the drawing was in a prominent place for everyone to see (and would be given a fireproofing charm just in case). It wasn’t quite as populated with drawings and such as the Kaminski side of the mantle, but the Russian had no doubts that it would be all in due time.

Sending a sweet smile sideways to her husband, Sveta contemplated whether or not to bring up the topic now or later. “I... think I vill be taking the next few days off of vork,” she commented in a way that she hoped was unassuming and entirely casual despite her doubts, and shifted Draco in her lap slightly. “I could use a little vacation from all of the emergency vard havoc!” Sveta added with a laugh.